Coach Bret Bielema made the announcement to a group of boosters at an event Wednesday night.

Stave is a former walk-on who just earned a scholarship in August after Joe Brennan left the program. He played for the first time last week against Utah State.

As if no one had not already noticed, the change points to the clear fact that O’Brien, while lumped in the same bag as 2011 transfer Russell Wilson, is not the player Wilson was.

Wisconsin was transformed by Wilson’s presence, but he has moved on to star for the Seattle Seahawks. O’Brien, who transferred from Maryland where he lost his starting job, has been unable to carry on what Wilson began.

O’Brien completed 19 of 23 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the season opening game against Northern Iowa. He was not as good in a loss to Oregon State and again struggled against Utah State.

The Badgers’ issues haven’t all been about O’Brien. The offensive line coach was fired, leading receiver Jared Abbrederis was knocked out of a game with a chest injury and running back Montee Ball hasn’t had the season that he had last year.

For one week, at least, Bielema is turning to Stave for a possible solution.